


Moonlight Mayhem

by alex_kade



Series: Monstas [1]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Badass, Family Feels, Gen, M/M, Vampires, Violence, but everyone sired everyone so you know it's there, everyone's hardcore, no direct slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-05-31 16:26:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6477496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alex_kade/pseuds/alex_kade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shownu's vampire coven is small, but powerful. They rarely show off their violent side...unless someone comes after one of their own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Moonlight Mayhem

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically a teaser story in what will be a series of shorts. I just adore the Monsta X vampire concept so very much. It needed to be an ongoing thing.
> 
> (Also, Idk what happened, but somehow in vampire-verse, Kihyun and Hyungwon suddenly became my favorites, lol. I'm sorry, Minhyuk and Shownu! I still love you!)

It was supposed to be a quiet evening. Wonho was lounging back in his sire’s favorite velveteen chair in the den, idly turning his hand so he could admire the new set of rings that Hyungwon, his beautiful protege, had recently gifted him with. At the moment, Hyungwon was out with the coven’s newest member, Changkyun, honing the young vampire’s skills more and more so that he could better blend in with the human world. Really that should’ve been Jooheon’s responsibility, having sired Changkyun, but Honey preferred to play silly games with the youngster as opposed to actually teaching him anything useful. He was good when it came to comforting the homesick fledgling, but as far as professional teaching went, Hyungwon was better suited for it.

Wonho grinned. Under Hyungwon’s tutelage, Changkyun was going to become a very dangerous vampire in the long run. The youngster had an aptitude for manipulation even before he’d been turned. That coupled with Hyungwon’s silent, deadly influence would make for a frightening, powerful creature some day. Perhaps there would come a time in the future when Changkyun would challenge Shownu for the position of leadership. He was certainly showing some grand potential for someone so very young...

But probably not. Shownu was quiet, but very powerful in his own right; and besides, they all adored him. He had a way about him that commanded respect not only as the Grand Sire of the bloodline, but also as a man, as a father figure and as a friend. He guided their actions without being overbearing, corrected them when they strayed too far from the proper paths without being overly harsh, and provided a home for all of them where they could be safe from the fears and prejudices of the outside world. He also allowed them the freedom of choosing their own companionship, which was always sort of cool until someone brought home a stray on a whim that Shownu then had to become responsible for until the fledgling grew out of his temporary feral phase.

Of course, Shownu was just as guilty of siring people when he felt like the balance of the coven was somewhat off. He was the one who had brought in Kihyun once it was obvious that he would need some help taking care of the more wild “children” of the bunch. He had selected his protege well, choosing one who was smaller in stature and seemingly mild, one who didn’t mind cooking (yes, they did still enjoy regular food despite their vampiric need for blood - turning did not kill off their tastebuds, after all) and cleaning for the others; but vampirism had definitely brought out a secret cruel streak in their designated “Mom.” If there ever came a time when the boy was wandering the estate with either a scowl on his face or an impish grin, it was best that everyone stayed out of his way. And kept their stuff out of his way. He was unpredictable with his pranks _and_ his revenge.

Jooheon had also been Shownu’s doing, but not so much by careful selection. He wasn’t a mistake, per se, and they were all happy to have him once he’d been integrated into the family, but he probably would’ve lived out the rest of his mortal days as a happy human if it hadn’t been for Minhyuk’s carelessness. Shownu had a rule about killing in his coven, about only turning those who were already reaching the ends of their lifelines, but Minhyuk had gone too far with his games involving Jooheon. It had been an innocent mistake, really, nothing with malicious intent, but still, an accident had occurred and a young man was dying as a result in the arms of a vampire who, at the time, was not yet experienced enough to safely sire a protege of his own. His mental distress signal had vibrated within what little souls each of them had left, causing them all to rush to his side faster than a fighter jet could fly overhead. It had been one of the few times where Shownu had been physically angry at one of them, barely containing his fury as he dragged Minhyuk up by the collar of his shirt and shoved him into Wonho’s arms, demanding Wonho to find a way to properly punish his protege before Shownu took it upon himself to do so.

As it turned out, Wonho didn’t really have to do anything. Minhyuk could definitely be a handful at most times, but he knew he had crossed a line and was visibly shaken up because of it. He’d locked himself in his room for nearly a month afterwards, refusing company and ignoring his hunger pangs up until the point when Shownu forced his way in, marching a mostly tamed, but still very new vampire Jooheon along with him. The visit hadn’t just been for Minhyuk’s sake, though; when one of his protege was suffering, Wonho was suffering, and if Wonho was suffering, so was Shownu. Shownu was just better at powering through it than the others and was aiming to put a stop to it.

By that time, Minhyuk had gone so long without a feeding that he could barely lift his head to look at the result of his actions. His skin was leathery and his eyes sunken, but he still managed to offer a weak but heartfelt apology to his newest kin. Jooheon had been turned without having been given a choice, and Minhyuk would forever feel the burden of guilt for that.

Still, Jooheon had accepted the apology with a soft smile as he knelt down beside the bed. “Hey, you were one of my best friends,” he pointed out. “You know, if you had told me, I probably would’ve asked for this.”

“Liar,” Minhyuk managed to grin. “You’re a scaredy cat. If I’d told you I was a vampire, you would’ve pissed your pants and run away screaming.”

“Would not,” Honey protested, but the older vamps could sense the lie for what it was. Either way, the greeting served its intended purpose - to lift Minhyuk’s spirits enough where he could eat again. Shownu had to carry him out for his first feeding, but allowed Wonho to nurse his own protege the rest of the way back to health beyond that. Minhyuk and Jooheon remained close friends ever since, but Minhyuk had ceased his bad habit of making ties with humans after that. It was for the best, anyway. Having humans as friends was like owning a pet rat - they lived just long enough for a solid bond to form, and then _poof!_ \- they were gone, put in the ground or their ashes spread to the wind, always leaving a hole in the heart that could never be filled again. It was best to stick with their own family for companionship.

And so they had, with Shownu as the Grand Sire, Wonho as his first protege, who then sired Hyungwon followed by Minhyuk when he decided the estate needed some livening up. Kihyun had followed as Shownu’s second protege, then came Jooheon as the third, and now there was Changkyun as the baby of the bunch. All in all, it made the once too-large estate feel full and lived in, not dark and lonely as it once had in the years when it had only been Shownu and Wonho. Most of the time now it was fun and yet also relaxed, as if every day were like a family reunion that never became tiresomeness.

But then there were the off days - or _nights_ , rather - when one of the boys would inevitably do _something_ to get themselves into trouble.

 _“Wonho_. _”_

He sat up straight, hackles rising at his protege’s call. Hyungwon’s telepathic tone was just as calm and smooth as his actual voice, but there was an added emotion pushed into it, the slightest sense of urgency that had Wonho’s heartbeat picking up a pace. On instinct, he reached out to “touch” his other kin, running a distant check on them to determine their status. His ties to Hyungwon and Minhyuk were strongest, of course, both of them being children of his personal blood, his tie with Changkyun being the weakest since he was a third generation of the Grand Sire’s direct line, but they were all still family, all capable of reaching out to one another when necessary. At the moment, Hyungwon seemed guarded, protective, all senses on alert. Minhyuk felt _hot_ , angry, which was a bad sign because the blonde rarely ever succumbed to that end of the emotional range. He could be wreckless when in that mode. Jooheon was tense, nervous, but there was definitely a deeply protective thrum running through his veins...the sort that came from a threat to a child. _His_ child. Changkyun, from what Wonho could feel, was anxious but there was defiance there, too. A challenge of some sort...which could only mean one thing.

“Shownu! Kihyun!” he yelled, knowing he didn’t have to, but the other two would react even quicker if they were getting both an audible _and_ mental call for action.

Wonho didn’t wait for them. He rushed out in a literal flash, his body just a blur through the streets until he reached the edge of the park where his younger kin had congregated. How they had all come to be in the same place together was something he’d have to find out later - only Hyungwon and Changkyun had set out together initially for their training session, Minhyuk and Jooheon having wandered out separately much earlier in the evening. Not that it mattered now, though. The bigger concern was that they had somehow stumbled into a confrontation with another clan, which was never good. In comparison, Shownu’s family was rather young and smaller in size than the surrounding groups, making them targets for those who wished to disband them and forcefully adopt their members into their own covens. Or destroy them if they wouldn’t conform.

What their challengers didn’t seem to understand was that it wasn’t the numbers that necessarily made one clan more powerful over another, or the individual members within it. Shownu’s clan had a knack for standing strong against their enemies _because_ they were small, because they weren’t just a street gang recruiting members whenever they felt threatened. They had all been _selected_ , one way or another, all of them closer to one another than actual brothers could ever hope to be. It made their bonds tighter, making their blood rites more powerful, which made _them_ a threatening force to come up against despite being a relatively peaceful group who made it their business to mind their own instead of getting caught up in the clan wars.

There were times like these, however, when others came gunning for _them_ , their sights apparently set on the youngest who had managed to draw some attention to himself due to his fast learning curve and clever instincts. New blood was generally easy to target, to persuade into stronger ranks with promises of grandeur, still malleable enough to train to fight against their own lines. Poached vampires were always secret weapons when it came to clan wars, sharp blades to strike quickly against their own sires who were essentially programmed to protect their protege from harm, even from themselves. Jooheon would be no more capable to strike down Changkyun as a loving father would be to injure his own child. He wasn’t nearly aged enough to fight against that bond. Even Shownu, with all his experience, would have a difficult time of defending himself against his own bloodline, even one of third generation.

“Back. Off,” Wonho growled as he came to a perfectly controlled stop in front of his family, his eyes glowing more fiercely red than usual, aimed at the vamp who seemed to be heading this particular poaching mission. He felt Minhyuk shift behind him and reached a hand back to stall any actions, knowing the boy was just on the verge of launching an attack. He’d been standing at the front when Wonho had arrived, the bright blue of his eyes shining clear through the darkness as he’d snarled at the offending clan. Hyungwon, though older in vampiric years, stood behind him, but only to keep a firm hand on Changkyun with Jooheon flanking the younger’s other side. Minhyuk was making himself appear to be the greater threat, his heightened emotions keeping the attention centered on him, but it was Hyungwon that would prove to be the greater threat if the others had chosen to attack. His eyes, a mix of light red and grey that formed stripes around his pupils, remained dim and cold, but forever on alert. If an enemy so much as moved in his direction, he would strike them down with a lethalness that would have even Wonho trembling had the vamp not been one of his own. There had only ever been one attempt by an enemy clan to poach Hyungwon in his younger years. It had only _taken_ one for the other clans to know it was never going to happen; and Wonho wasn’t too full of himself to assume it had been because of the way that he and Shownu had fought for him. Hyungwon had made him feel very much the proud sire that day, and their bond had only grown stronger over the years because of it.

Jooheon, who was generally as cheerful and silly and Minhyuk tended to be, was a beast in his own right. Like his sire before him and his young protege, his eyes were dark, not taking to color during the transformation as the others’ had. Whereas Shownu’s were nearly black and frightening, however, Jooheon and Changkyun could still easily pass for human, meaning they could make for some dangerous hunters to the human race if their coven worked that way. Wolves in sheep’s clothing, both of them, which was also what made them valuable to other clans. Free infiltration among prey was a trait to be desired for both feeding and growing numbers. Jooheon’s soft look was not to be mistaken for weakness, however. He had an impressive amount of physical strength that had come with being turned when he had been at the peak of a young man’s health and endurance, and most likely would’ve lived a long and healthy life had Minhyuk not accidentally broken him. He was like Shownu in that way, the only other one of them who had not been on a deathbed already when he’d been born into vampirism, making father and son combined transform into a solid wall of stone that was nearly impossible to break through - a wall that could hit back.

Wonho was small in stature, himself, but strong in his own right, and he had age and experience on his side. What he lacked in brute strength, he made up for in agility and speed, something he had passed on to both his protege. He also trained his body and his power an excessive amount, always ready for a challenge despite how lazy he sometimes seemed to be. He would do anything to protect his family from harm, so he had to be strong enough to do so even if he had to fight alone. Without them, he would be nothing at all.

He certainly didn’t have to fight alone today, though. A blink of an eye later, Shownu had taken point in front of _him_ , forcing him back to take up position beside Minhyuk. Kihyun had appeared at the back, but not out of fear or any desire to put himself further away from potential battle. He had taken up the flanking position, his back to Changkyun’s, his normally blue-violet eyes glowing an even darker blue than Minhyuk’s now, a cobalt color that almost sparkled in the moonlight with its intensity. Shownu’s had become a complete void, pupils and irises melding into one deep well of threatening terror that any fool would be quick to want to avoid.

“He said back off,” Shownu stated, low and just as devoid of emotion as his eyes were of color.

The other clan fidgeted for a moment, feeling the way the air rippled with the Grand Sire’s words, glancing back and forth between each other as they tried to decide what to do. Their lead, however, stood firm, yellow, menacing eyes accepting Shownu’s challenge and throwing it back at him.

“Master wants that one,” he nearly purred, bringing his finger up to point at Changkyun. There was another stirring in the air, a lance that shot through the protective walls of flesh surrounding the youngest, piercing into him and filling his chest with tempting desire, a call to _follow_. He grit his teeth against the sensation, sucking in deep breaths to try to keep hold of his own will as he’d been taught.

“Changkyun, look at me,” Jooheon coaxed, using his fingers to turn his protege’s face towards him. “Focus. Here. On me.” His lips then began to move, softly and quickly, forming silent words in a poetic rhythm that would reach inside Changkyun’s mind, pulling him back to them.

The youngest closed his eyes and let the soundless beat wash through him, and it wasn’t long before he, too, was mouthing words of his own, matching his sire’s every syllable, keeping himself focused and away from the line that the other clan was trying to reel him in with.

The yellow-eyed leader started to lift his other hand, but he cried out as his fingers were broken before he’d barely even twitched. Minhyuk. His abundance of energy made him the fastest of all of them, but he still suffered with acting out before thinking things through. He had gotten the jump on the enemy only due to his speed, but the other was older, more powerful, and already making a move to launch a counterattack.

Wonho’s own protective instincts kicked in without bidding, and he rushed forward just in time to take the enemy’s hit for Minhyuk - a mental surge that dropped him to his knees as if someone had struck an electric fuse inside his brain. It only lasted a second, but in the second of time it took for him to open his eyes again, his vision cleared to see a full battle being waged between the other clan and his own.

To the human eye, which was too slow to properly track enhanced vampiric speed, the scene before them would’ve looked no more than a series of blurs and glimpses of color in the night. To Wonho, however, when he set his sight to it, he could track the movements of his family and the enemy clan as if he were watching choreographed dancers performing on a stage. It was still fast, but he was able to follow the tactics of his two proteges, Minhyuk using his speed and agility like a humanoid pinball to knock opponents straight into Hyungwon, who would instantly use their off-balance state to throw them to the ground where he could proceed to either hit or kick the everliving shit out of them. Hyungwon never hesitated nor held back when it came to taking down an opponent, especially now when he and his brother were doing it to protect both their youngest and their downed sire. His hands were already covered in blood, and the fight had only just begun.

Speaking of their youngest, it seemed the excitement of battle had risen his bloodlust, as well, that part of him still easy to trigger given his immaturity as a vampire. He wasn’t initiating any attacks, however, his sire and Kihyun doing well to keep him in line but satiated at the same time. It was their job to weaken an opponent, then (if caution allowed) they would pass the enemy vamp off to Changkyun to rip into like a hungry wolf tearing into its prey. Yes, he may have been Jooheon’s protege, but the savage gleam in his dark eyes as he sunk his fangs into his victim’s pale flesh was definitely a sign of Hyungwon’s influence.

Jooheon, unlike Hyungwon, was more of a one-strike, knock-down fighter. In one fluid movement he managed to clothesline one enemy to the ground who had decided it was an intelligent move to charge towards his protege, knocking him instantly unconscious, and then swiveling around to grab the back of the head of another enemy to slam her face into the pavement with a sickening _crack!_ He was fierce, but unlike Hyungwon and Changkyun, he was graceful and systematic about it - see enemy, dispose of enemy, move on. He kept his cool on the battlefield to keep himself from falling to his anger and making mistakes, but that meant he’d be fired up for the next three hours afterwards and have to go do something to blow off steam. How he went about that was anybody’s guess, but he always came back home as his usual jovial self, so they didn’t really care how he came to return that way.

“Get up,” a voice whispered into Wonho’s ear, which startled him, but didn’t scare him as a threat. He turned his head to come face-to-face with one of Kihyun’s grins, _those_ grins, the kind that made the entire coven want to run for the hills. It was even more frightening with his eyes sparkling like they were, filled with an odd joy for the rush of a good fight. Maybe it was because he was smaller than the others and had the face of an angelic sort of creature, giving him an air of innocence and harmlessness that he had to constantly prove as inaccurate, but for whatever reason, Kihyun _loved_ a good challenge when one arose. It was a chance to blow off some steam of his own and prove himself to be a surprisingly difficult opponent to take down. If he wanted to be, Kihyun could become practically invisible - not literally to the naked eye, but like creating a blank space in the mind where his presence should’ve been noted. He could even do it to his own family, as he had just demonstrated. Wonho had sworn he’d just seen him fighting beside Jooheon a moment ago, and yet there he was, squatting behind him as if he’d teleported there. That was Kihyun’s favorite personal trick, using it for fun and games at home, but as a ruthless technique for slaying on the battlefield. An enemy wouldn’t even know he was there until his nails were already embedded into their throats. He’d drop the trick just long enough for them to acknowledge him before he ripped their vocal chords out.

And then he’d go home feeling chipper as a squirrel who’d found a cookie, singing happy songs in the kitchen as he lightly seared some marinated steak for them to perfectly-raw perfection.

Kihyun was terrifying.

Aside from his aforementioned speed and agility, Wonho’s own special ability was not a very useful one in the battlefield as a weapon. It could be, if he honed it like the yellow-eyed leader had clearly learned to do, but Wonho was a son of Shownu and therefore hadn’t much need to use his empathic abilities to cause actual harm. He was best at sensing the moods and locations of others, at hearing his coven’s call when they needed help, and he could certainly charm a human into becoming a donor with one look at his eyes and a snap of his fingers, leaving them blissfully relaxed and memory-free of the experience afterwards; but he never used it as an actual weapon, nor as a means to poach young vampires. He certainly didn’t shoot lighting-pain into people’s heads, and had no desire to practice the technique on even an enemy. Empathic powers were just as draining on the user as the target; he couldn’t imagine how much that jolt had taken out of the vampire who had used it on him, especially after just having tried to charm Changkyun to their side.

He _could_ use his power to create a sort of mental map for himself, however, like seeing a playing board from a hilltop vantage point where the game pieces were marked with clear colors (except Kihyun who was pinging off and on his radar as just a shadow of a cloud of mist-grey). His saw fear in most of the enemy fighters, which was good; it meant they had realized their mistake in underestimating Shownu’s little coven, and would not be quick to repeat it. Seeing how easy it would be to turn that fear into a full surrender, Wonho set his crosshairs on the few fighters who were showing no such trepidations, the ones who were fueling what bravery was left on the enemy’s side.

 _“Them,”_ he kissed into the others’ minds, aiming the focus of his kin towards his chosen targets as though lifting the veil on a magic trick.

Minhyuk stopped his random pinging around for a second, one side of his mouth lifting in a crooked smile. Hyungwon dropped his head, his eyes zeroing in on the designated foes with the cold calculation of a jungle cat. Jooheon took a few steps back, analyzing the situation, taking note of who stood between them and the targets, and also to place a firm hand on Changkyun’s shoulder. The youngster was in full attack mode, and had nearly sprung towards the enemy at Wonho’s gentle empathic nudge.

Kihyun was already there, tapping one of the “lucky ones” on the shoulder. When she turned, he slapped her hard across the cheek _\- slapped_ her! Then he stepped around her without her even noticing, coming at her back again so he could yank at her hair, causing her to hiss like an overgrown kitten. He was toying with her, making her look the fool in front of her underlings just to increase their doubt in their elders even further. From what Wonho could “see” of their emotional state, it was already working.

“Hyungwon,” he said lightly, just touching his protege’s shoulder as he stepped up beside him. With his other hand, he pointed to a specific opponent, one that had a nasty snarl permanently etched onto his face. “Make that one our messenger. Minhyuk, shadow me.”

Then and only then did Hyungwon allow himself to smile - a cunning, feral expression that laced his lips with shades of danger. He didn’t run towards his intended victim, instead weaving his way through the others like a predator stalking its prey through a jungle full of poisonous thorns, yet entirely unconcerned about being pricked. He had no doubt that his sire and brother would be there to hack away at any danger that tried to reach for him along the way, allowing him to put his complete focus on his mission. A focused Hyungwon was a frightening one, right up there with a playfully violent Kihyun.

“What are you smiling at?” the snarling vamp growled as Hyungwon approached.

Hyungwon’s lips tilted up even further. “You get to play messenger.”

“I’m not messenging shit. Young-chul speaks for us.”

At that, Hyungwon actually threw back his head and laugh. “The yellow-eyed demon? Do you see him anywhere?” He paused as the other vamp searched around for his leader and obviously discovered that he was nowhere in sight. “He’ll be back soon, but I promise you it won’t be in one piece. You can carry his parts back to your coven.”

The enemy vamp bellowed in rage and swung at Hyungwon, but the leaner boy sidestepped it easily enough. He didn’t make a move to hit back. “Body parts aren’t the message, though, they’re just a result of Shownu becoming angry,” he continued as though nothing had happened. He ducked another swing and came up with his head cocked in a thoughtful way. “No, we need something more suitable for a Grand Sire than a corpse. What’s his name? Or her’s?”

When the vamp attacked this time, Hyungwon grabbed the offending arm hard enough to sink his nails into the flesh at the inner elbow, his fingers disappearing all the way up to the first joints.

“Name, please,” he requested, his face inches from the howling vampire’s, eyes curious as he sported a polite grin.

“Junso, _Junso_ ,” the vamp wailed. Hyungwon released him and took a moment to pat him on the head.

“Good boy. Now listen closely. You need to repeat this message word for word. Understand?”

Now freed, the vamp apparently (foolishly) made a point to _not_ understand. He attacked again, but Hyungwon didn’t mind. With his bloodkin weeding out the other threats, he could toy with this opponent all night long.

~~~~~~~

Contrary to popular myth, vampires actually weren’t _that_ difficult to kill. They healed faster and more completely than a human body could, certainly, and could survive what many humans could not, but they still had heartbeats and therefore blood pumping through their veins. With enough damage done (like throats being ripped out and limbs being severed without immediately being tended to afterwards) a vampire could, in fact, bleed out. Decapitation would kill a vampire instantly (of course, as it did any living creature), as would the traditional stake through the heart because, again, that generally would kill most things. Silver did not burn them, crosses were just religious symbols that they could (and sometimes did out of sheer humor) wear without issue, and garlic was something they liked to put on their pizza. Getting shot hurt, and bullets had to be removed or their bodies would seal the metal inside, causing all sorts of problems in the future. Bones had to be set or they wouldn’t heal up properly. Stab wounds and gashes were far easier to bounce back from if they were stitched or at least bandaged shut. A vampire could starve to death, but the process took a painfully long amount of time. They breathed oxygen and therefore could also suffocate to death, but that, too, took an impossibly long amount of agonizing time. They would not burn to ashes in the sunlight, but because their circulation systems functioned differently than did a human’s, their skin was accurately pale to vampiric lore and sensitive to the harsh UV rays. Their eyes, suited to shift to different spectrums as needed, were also prone to damage if exposed to direct sunlight, so vampires were creatures of the night not because sunlight was deadly, but because they had to cover themselves in so much protective wear in order to go out in it that it wasn’t worth the trouble most days.

One thing that was true about the myths was that a vampire’s body did not noticeably age. Due its ability to heal itself, it had a tendency to overcorrect dying cells in order to stay ahead of the natural aging process, constantly growing new ones similar to forming newer, tougher skin over a spot of flesh that got torn often during hard labor. The increasing power that came with age was a representation of a callous forming across a gymnast's palms, making vampires stronger, faster, and more difficult to damage as the years passed them by.

Shownu was, by comparison, one of the younger Grand Sires taking up residence in South Korea, but he most certainly had several years over the yellow-eyed cockroach that was now spitting curses into his ear. Shame. If the man had asked politely, Shownu may have stopped at only taking the hand that had damaged one of his children. _May_ have. He did his best to make sure it was very obvious that his coven was not interested in territory wars or growing their numbers just for the sake of appearing larger and more threatening. As far as vampires went, they were peaceful and polite, and wanted nothing to do with whatever useless political games were being played among their kind. Therefore, if somebody made a specific point to go after one his, always completely unprovoked, it made him very, _very_ angry. Being of general peaceful nature was _not_ a sign of weakness, after all.

When lit, Shownu’s fury burned blisteringly hot like a white flame, but that level of heat tended to burn out swiftly. He had simmered down below berserker mode immediately after having grabbed the vampire group leader and ran him cleanly through a wrought iron fence and into the park that was beside them. The hand had been dispatched somewhere along the way, the flesh torn into and the bone twisted at the joint until it could be ripped off and tossed to the dirt like so much filth. The other hand remained mangled and fairly useless thanks to Minhyuk’s initial attack, making it a very easy target to aim for next.

The initial rage was gone, but it didn’t stop Shownu from continuing his violent assault on the enemy vampire. While he didn’t enjoy playing the games of the vampire underworld, he did understand the rules, and the only language a clan such as the one this wild underling belonged to spoke was one of chaos and destruction. Thus was the burden of being the Grand Sire of his own coven - it was his duty to do whatever was necessary to keep his bloodline safe, and if that involved crudely dismembering attackers one limb at a time, he wouldn’t hesitate to follow through.

Granted he could, of course, have done so in the full view of the others. He could’ve taken mercy on the vampire and killed him, first, before he started tearing him apart. But this, this pure, cold _evil_ he felt inside himself whenever he took on a task such as this one, it wasn’t something he wanted to share in front of his children. Shownu had come from a different time, a different mindset, one in which darkness was simply a way of life and still very much thrived inside of his soul despite how many years had gone by since he had tried to put it behind him. While he could rationalize all day long that it simply made a louder point, a better threat to an enemy vampire’s clan to hear their elder scream, he couldn’t hide the fact that somewhere deep inside he _loved_ it. He _lived_ for it. And that mortified him.

But now, in the moment, as he slowly turned a grown man into a pile of so much useless flesh and bone, he smiled broadly as the vamp’s impotent curses finally transformed into the wild screams he’d been craving to hear.

~~~~~~~

“ _What_ did I say?” Hyungwon pressed for at least the tenth time in so many seconds. With the agonized screams ringing out from the park nearby, his opponent finally seemed to be getting the message - literally. At the moment he was being pinned to the ground by Hyungwon’s hand around his throat, blood already pooling up from around his nails where they were barely digging in. The downed vamp’s eyes flicked around quickly, searching for assistance that just wouldn’t seem to come. What he caught sight of instead was a “helpful” Minhyuk plopping down cross-legged on the street beside him.

The blonde folded his body over so that his face could be level with the pinned vamp’s. “The lady with the curly hair is over there,” he pointed, “the guy with the tattoos is over there, the creepy kid with the nose ring is there, the one who looks like a pirate is over there...and there...oh, and there, and you’ll have to get the girl with the knuckle blades from off the post up there, but I’m keeping the blades. They look good on me, don’t you think?”

He slid the weapons over his fingers and posed with them like some sort of martial artist straight out of a cheesy B rate film.

“I’ll k-” the vampire began to threaten, but cut himself off as Hyungwon sunk his nails in further.

The screaming from the park turned a bit garbled and then fell eerily silent, making them all turn their heads in that direction.

“And that was your fearless leader - what was his name? Young-chul? - over there,” Minhyuk added needlessly. “I would do as brother Hyungwon says if I were you.” He patted the man on the head, then pushed himself up to scamper over to where Jooheon was hanging back with Changkyun, bringing the boy down from the height of his adrenaline despite still being gripped by his own aggravation.

“Repeat. The message,” Hyungwon ordered, the tone of his voice stating very clearly that this would be his last chance.

Finally, seeing no way out of this but to comply or die, the vamp let go of the will to fight and began to recite: “Junso. We welcome your presence in Gangwon with humble respect. We stake no claims to territories outside of the grounds of our home, and seek no further growth of our coven by means of thieving from other clans. We walk, we eat, we play, we live in peace.”

After a long silence, Hyungwon shook the man a little. “...And?”

The vamp sucked in an annoyed breath. “But your sons and daughters are rude, disrespectful fledglings with no control and no foreseeable hope for growth. They are born weak and they will die weak. If you don’t wish to see your clan completely exterminated, please take better care to raise them with some manners and some level of intelligence. This isn’t a threat being made by the clan of Grand Sire Shownu, simply an observation as your twenty were bested by our seven.

Our kindest regards, and apologies for your losses.”

A round of applause rang up from the five other members who were acting the attentive audience, the living members of Junso’s poaching group having all fled back to a safe distance. Hyungwon released his hold on the man’s throat with a smug grin on his face.

“Make sure you say it exactly like that,” he warned, then tilted his head towards Wonho. “He’ll know if you don’t.”

Wonho tapped a finger to his temple to drive the point home, and it was at that moment that Shownu finally reappeared. He chucked a wadded, bloody jacket towards the feet of the scattered members of the enemy clan, ignoring their gasps as the cloth fell open to reveal the promised pile of Young-chul’s body parts.

“Let’s go,” he commanded quietly without slowing down, fully expecting his children to fall into step behind him. They did so without question - the fight was over, their battle won, and it was time to go home to clean up and cool down.

The mess in the streets was to be left for the Junso clan to deal with. It was the punishment bestowed upon the losing side in any vampiric battle, to make all evidence of their presence in the area disappear entirely. Come morning, the only thing left for any sort of authority figure to find would be a mysteriously broken fence, which they would eventually chalk up to vandals, and that would be the end of it. If there was one rule that every vampire followed together, despite how much they could hate one another, it was that the human race was, under no circumstance, allowed to find out that they actually existed among them. If they did, there would be no doubt that the predators would quickly become the prey. Then none of them would ever be safe again.

~~~~~~~

Wonho slipped into Shownu’s study as the hours crept closer towards the morning light. His sire was sitting on one end of the large couch with Changkyun curled up on the floor before him, head resting on Shownu’s knee, sleeping deeply as Shownu stroked his hair. Smiling slightly, Wonho traipsed over and stretched out along the rest of the empty cushions, lying on his back with his own head settling further up Shownu’s opposite thigh. On instinct, his sire rested his free hand on Wonho’s chest.

“You scared me out there,” Shownu sighed. “You’re okay?”

Wonho closed his eyes. “Nothing permanently fried. I’m drained more than anything else.”

“You need to be more careful,” his sire scolded.

With a soft snort, Wonho scrubbed his hand over his face. “No, my Minhyukie needs to be more careful. I don’t know how well he would’ve recovered from a hit like that. You think you were scared today? Think about how _I_ felt. It’s the same every time he goes out by himself. He’s too impulsive.”

“He’s _your_ making,” Shownu teased. “Just remember, you _chose_ him.”

“I know.” Wonho grinned fondly at the slight, not feeling offended whatseover. “I love him. I just wish he wasn’t so infuriating sometimes. _And_ Hyungwon. They can both be so stubborn. I had to get Kihyun’s help to make them sit still so we could treat their injuries.”

“They’re fine,” Shownu laughed, knowing without having been in the room what sort of damage all his bloodkin had taken. “Cuts and bruises. You mother them too much.”

“ _You_ mother them too much,” Wonho fired back, turning a little so he could pointedly look at the sleeping Changkyun.

Shownu didn’t say anything, just simply smiled his answer. Really, the others looked at him more as a cool dad instead of a mother, but he was definitely in affectionate caring mode at the moment, taking it upon himself to watch over Changkyunie after he’d dismissed Jooheon to go center himself. Honey had actually fought it at first this time, his own instincts as a sire kicking in, telling him he needed to be there for his protege, but post-fight tension was coming off of him in waves. His presence would only keep the youngest vampire’s energy levels heightened instead of falling down where they needed to be, so the best thing Jooheon could do for Changkyun was to leave the estate until he could calm his aura. He would be back soon, then he could cart his protege off to his room where they could sleep the day away.

Thinking of sleep, it was amusing to Wonho when not a second later a very bleary-eyed Minhyuk wandered into the room, shuffling his feet as he toddled over to the couch. Half-unconscious, he seemed to assess the situation for a moment before he just sort of fell on top of his sire, forcing him to turn and make room beside him for his protege, or lay there and act as a secondary cushion beneath him.

“Minhyukie, what-?” he started to say, chuckling slightly as his _most_ stubborn child mumbled a sort of answer.

“Kihyun stole Hyungwon. Cuddles.”

Both Shownu and Wonho chortled at that. Minhyuk was a touchy person by nature, always moreso after an experience like the one they’d just had, but he wasn’t stupid enough to fight Kihyun or Hyungwon for it if they chose not to reciprocate. Which was normal, and normalcy was what returned peace back to _Shownu’s_ mind after a violent ordeal. He could say for a fact that it wouldn’t be long before Jooheon would come for Changkyun, Shownu would head to bed, Wonho would want to follow, Minhyuk would follow _him_ , and the three generations would sleep comfortably through the day. Come nightfall, they would all awake hungry after the energy drain and would go their separate ways on a real hunt, their bodies’ need for human blood driving them, but their bond to Shownu and his tutelage making them gentle and kind to those who would become their temporary prey. It was that kindness that Shownu fought so hard to preserve, fueled by an intense need to protect his kin from a past like his own that had tainted his soul so very dark on the inside.

He didn’t feel that way at the moment, though. With half his family sleeping comfortably on his lap and the others relatively nearby, all he felt was light, light and hope for a better future for them all. Until then, though, he would be ready to fight, and so would they, doing anything they could to keep their family together and safe. Just as they had done tonight.

And he couldn’t be more proud.

_~The End~_


End file.
